Holmgren to Start Dilfer in Finale

Published 8:00 pm, Tuesday, January 1, 2002

In a bid for a victory that could get them into the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks will go with Trent Dilfer at quarterback in the regular-season finale.

Coach Mike Holmgren, who said Monday that he might go back to the injured Matt Hasselbeck, said Wednesday that Dilfer would be his starter against Kansas City on Sunday at Husky Stadium.

A win by the Seahawks (8-7), plus a loss by either the Baltimore Ravens or the New York Jets in their final games, would give Seattle an AFC wild-card berth.

Replacing Hasselbeck, Dilfer passed for three long touchdowns and 267 yards in Seattle's 25-22 victory Sunday in San Diego to run his winning streak as a starting quarterback to 14 games, including three with the Seahawks this season.

Holmgren said Hasselbeck's separated left shoulder, which kept him from playing against the Chargers, was still not completely healthy. Hasselbeck is listed as questionable for Kansas City.

"The decision to start Trent was not a difficult decision," Holmgren told his weekly news conference. "Had Matt been 100 percent healthy and raring to go and not hurting, yeah, I might have had something to weigh there."

Dilfer was 14-for-23, with no interceptions, last week after not playing in seven consecutive games. Dilfer said he felt much sharper in Wednesday afternoon's practice.

"I'm excited about playing and I'm excited about having a chance to win a game," Dilfer said.

Against the Chargers, he had scoring passes of 48 and 43 yards to Darrell Jackson and 37 yards to James Williams. He said he couldn't promise more long TD passes against the Chiefs.

"Throwing the deep ball is something that you can't force," Dilfer said. "I've been a victim before of taking too many shots. I think you just have to wait for the opportunities to present themselves. When the defense is playing passive, it's better to throw the ball underneath."

The coach said Hasselbeck, who has started 12 games for the Seahawks this season, was feeling better, but Holmgren said he was concerned about him taking a hit on his injured left shoulder. He said there was a chance Hasselbeck would be inactive and the team's emergency quarterback again this week.

Third-string quarterback Brock Huard was Dilfer's backup in San Diego.

Hasselbeck, acquired in a trade with Green Bay in March to become the starting quarterback in Seattle, has a 70.9 quarterback rating. Dilfer, who was signed as a free agent in August to be Hasselbeck's backup, has a 100.6 quarterback rating.

Hasselbeck has completed 54.8 per cent of his passes (176-for-321) for seven touchdowns and has been intercepted eight times. Dilfer has five touchdown passes, two interceptions and has hit 60.7 of his passes (51-of-84). Hasselbeck has been sacked 38 times in 13 games, while Dilfer has been sacked nine times in five games.

Holmgren replaced Hasselbeck with Dilfer at halftime of the Washington game Nov. 4, a loss, because Hasselbeck was playing poorly. The Seahawks were 5-7 with Hasselbeck as their starting quarterback, including a 19-7 defeat in Kansas City Nov. 25.

Holmgren said he hopes to retain Dilfer, who signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks, as Hasselbeck's backup next season.

"I'm hoping I can keep Trent," Holmgren said. "But I also know that he wants to be the starter."

Dilfer was the starting quarterback in Baltimore's win over the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, but was not re-signed by the Ravens and had trouble finding a job during the off-season. He's receiving $1 million from the Seahawks.

Holmgren gave Hasselbeck a $24 million, five-year contract after acquiring him from the Packers.